The world’s greatest museum of art and design

Opening times

The Lost Art of Writing

What:

Displays

When:

Fri 6 September 2013 – Sun 19 April 2015

Where:

Gallery 116

DISPLAY: 'Beautiful Writing pleases everyone, it makes one sought after,' explained the French writer Père Gregoire Martin in 1761. Having a fine writing hand was not only a useful skill but the sign of an educated and genteel person

This small display in the Metalware gallery explores some of the objects used in writing, from a medieval penner to an ingenious 18th century globe inkstand and a pen rest designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse. These objects, made to serve the art of writing, have been displaced by the new virtual world of icons and toolbars.

Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.